Confirming the blast by suicide bombers in front of the consulate, official sources in New Delhi said, "All Indians are safe and there was no major damage to the consulate." "The situation is still very fluid," sources said.

Nangarhar province Police Chief Gen Sharif Amin said the car bomb was set off near a mosque leading to the Indian consulate in the provincial capital Jalalabad.

"Most of the victims were children attending religious classes at the mosque," Gen Amin was quoted as saying by a news channel.

"At least eight children were killed and 21 other civilians wounded in the attack," he said.

He said they were alerted about such an attack on the Indian consulate. The Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area and the victims have been taken to the provincial hospital. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban or the Haqqani Network have been accused in the past of staging attacks on Indian officials and buildings in Afghanistan.